Bern hosts an event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

On May 1, 2018, 100th anniversary of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was marked in an event held in the historic building pertaining to “Polit Forum Bern” association, which is joint venture of Mayor’s Office, Canton and Municipality of Bern.

The event was organized by the “Azerbaijani Cultural Center of Switzerland” (ACCS) with the support of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Switzerland. It was attended by the representatives of the local community, including Azerbaijanis living in Switzerland.

In her opening address, Ambassador Hanum Ibrahimova recounted the ADR’s story of creation and elaborated on the importance of this event for subsequent development of Azerbaijan. While speaking about the difficult path of Azerbaijan towards independence in May 1918, she also briefed the audience about the March 1918 genocide against Azerbaijanis, when thousands of innocent people were killed just because of their ethnicity.

Next speaker, Mr. Ugudey Nasirov, student of the Bern University, analyzed the concept of genocide in the Swiss legislation and based on this analysis, he concluded that the March 1918 events should be classified as genocide.

Lastly, Mr. Gasim Nasirov, Head of the ACCS, took the audience to the excursion through the years when Armenians were moved to the Caucasus.

After the speeches, the audience enjoyed the documentary entitled “Lifelong Mission”, revealing tumultuous story of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919.

The event concluded with apero from Azerbaijani national cuisine.